This invention relates to a device and method for processing offal from a poultry hatchery into a form suitable for rendering or disposal as land fill.
Trays removed from the incubators of commercial poultry hatcheries contain new-born chicks, shells from hatched and partially hatched eggs, unhatched eggs and other debris. The new-born chicks are inspected for physical deformities and diseases. The malformed and diseased chicks, as well as the egg shells and the partially hatched and unhatched eggs, present special disposal problems. This hatchery offal will be accepted by rendering plants provided that it does not include live chicks. Government regulations and/or ordinances usually impose similar requirements before the offal can be disposed as land fill.
Some of the unhatched eggs may subsequently hatch. Consequently, in order to be in a form suitable for rendering or disposal as land fill, the hatchery offal must be processed in a manner to kill all the diseased and malformed chicks and also kill live, unhatched embryo. The processed offal often is transported from the hatchery in open truck beds. Therefore, the egg shells desirably should not be comminuted into small particle size which is subject to being blown about during handling and transportation.
Devices employing a large relatively centrifuge has been used to process hatchery offal. These devices pulverize the offal into a size suitable for disposal in sewers. However, in addition to requiring relatively large motors (e.g., up to 25 horsepower) with the attendant electrical energy requirements, these devices usually require relatively large volumes of water, for example, 350-700 gallons per hour. This amount of water, if a supply is available, may exceed the sewer capacity for the hatchery in some cases.